CEFR A2 · Elementary

What is A2 French?

At A2 the language stops being a series of memorised phrases and starts being usable. You handle routine exchanges — shops, directions, small talk — and you can describe your background and immediate surroundings in simple terms.

Elementary
A2
On our test
21-40%
To get here
180-200h
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At A2, you can

  • Handle short social exchanges without rehearsing them first
  • Describe your family, your job and your daily routine
  • Understand the main point of short, clear announcements and messages
  • Ask for and give directions
  • Write simple notes and a short personal letter

What is still out of reach

  • Holding your own in a conversation that moves at natural speed
  • Expressing an opinion with reasons behind it

What A2 French looks like in practice

Three situations, and where each of them stops. A level is easier to recognise from the moment it runs out than from a definition.

  • A conversation with a colleague

    You can say what you did at the weekend and ask what they did, and follow the answer while it stays in the present or the simple past. A tangent will lose you.

  • Making an appointment by phone

    You can book a table or a haircut, give a time and a name, and understand the confirmation — though the phone stays harder than a counter, because you lose the face and the hands.

  • Reading a short email

    You get the point of a plainly written message about something familiar, and you can reply to it in a few sentences without help.

How long it takes to get here

Reaching A2 from scratch typically takes 180-200 hours of guided learning — the range Cambridge English publishes, and a range rather than a number because it depends on you and on how close your first language already is.

Getting from A2 to B1

A2 to B1 is the longest single step on the scale — roughly 170 to 200 further hours — and the one most learners stall on. The reason is structural: memorised phrases carry you to A2 and stop working at B1, where you have to assemble sentences you have never said before, in real time.

A2 to B1 is where most learners stall, because it is the point where memorised phrases run out and real conversation has to start.

What B1 French looks like

Where A2 sits on the scale

Six levels, from your first words to full command. The bands are the share of our test you would answer correctly at each one.

A1
A2
B1
B2
C1
C2

Every CEFR level in French

What each level means for French, in the same plain terms.

The levels either side

The level belowWhat is A1 French?You can handle simple, everyday exchanges.The level aboveWhat is B1 French?You can hold your own in familiar situations.

You can cope with routine, predictable situations.

FAQ

A2, answered

The questions people ask about this level.

Tell me when it's ready

A1A2B1B2C1C2

Find out if you're A2

Thirty questions, about five minutes, and a CEFR level at the end that explains itself. No account needed to start the French test.

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